


Trouble In Paradise

by NovaSpeaks



Series: Tales Of The Exiled [1]
Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: A Single Fiesty Phobos, Angery Meouch, Angst, Havve Done With Your Shit Hogan, Minor Injuries, Nightmare Sequence, Strong Language, Vomiting, also get ready forrrr, and Sleepy Sung, basically Phobos gets spooked a bit, bc eew that's gross?, puns that only the author will get, the vomiting is very tame though I don't dwell on it really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-08 08:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12861114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaSpeaks/pseuds/NovaSpeaks
Summary: After an unfortunate incident during a mission sparks a fight between Phobos and Meouch, tensions are high and strong words are spoken. Sung takes it upon himself to arrange a vacation for them all to the planet Lulara, a hidden gem amongst the stars where it rains diamonds, and guests are treated with utmost luxury and respect.The question is, can they manage a whole vacation without getting caught up in some kind of trouble?





	1. A Chewy Exaggeration

It wasn’t until their eighty-eigth mission as freelancers that the boys broke their success streak, and it was a big failure too.

Meouch had this terrible feeling the whole day leading up to the mission, this sense that something would go wrong. When Phobos had inquired about it he brushed it aside as maybe something he ate, but he knew that this was not true, he only ate the same thing he did every day. His stomach was fine… It was his chest that didn’t feel right.

The mission wasn’t a particularly difficult one, at least not at first. Sung had gathered all four of them together in the piloting room of their ship for a pre-mission briefing on their situation; the Tecluans reported twenty-five kidnappings in the last three Earth months, an unusually high number for such a remote, peaceful planet.

Tecluans were a somewhat submissive race, they had incredibly durable bodies and weren't interested in interplanetary conflicts. The main objective given to them was simply to identify the kidnappers and gain intel on their motivations. The somewhat lenient Official Teclua task force would then assess the intergalactic laws that applied, and take matters into their own hands from that point on. These missions were Meouch’s favorite, most likely due to the simple instructions combined with a lack of political involvement.

The objective was clear in theory, but in practice it turned out to be quite a frustrating experience.

The plan was that they would catch a kidnapper in the act using a combat trained Tecluan as bait, and then follow them to their base in order to gather information about who - or what - they were. Once infiltrated, they had a plan to rescue the bait, identify the kidnapper as well as the number of culprits involved, and escape back to Teclua with the intel and Tecluan unscathed. Compared to the missions they’d been pulling off lately, this was easy stuff.

The underlying problem in their plan made itself known quite fast; they assumed there was only one or two kidnappers involved. When the Tecluan bait was knocked unconscious, he was kidnapped by not one, not two, but four enemy targets dressed in full body armor who all ran into the surrounding jungle in different directions. Sung reacted instinctively by racing after the one holding the Tecluan, yelling nervously into his comm that they should each split up to track every target’s movements.

Meouch had looked nervously at his silent teammates who, without a shred of hesitation, turned on their heels and ran to pursue their targets. He cursed under his breath and pulled out his katana from its sheath, the painful feeling in his chest growing.

 _“I’ve got visual on the bait, I don’t think this guy has noticed me following him yet! Over!”_ Sung’s voice emitted from the comms.

 _“My target got a bit of a head start, but I’m definitely gaining on him Doc! He’s slowing down. Over!”_ Meouch panted into his own comm.

 _“Roger that Commander! Havve says he lost visual, but he’s gonna try out his infrared vision that I gave him last week. It should work! Over and out.”_ Sung replied.

Silence overtook the channel. Meouch tried not to let it get to him. After all, there was no way Phobos would be able to whip out his guitar to strum a few chords while running, and his translator’s loud robotic voice could give away his location. It was better for the mission if he didn’t try to contact them until his target was taken care of.

These thoughts did little to calm him.

 -

On the other side of the Tecluan jungle, running at his fastest speed with his sai in each hand, was Phobos. He was currently focused on maintaining a healthy breathing pattern while making doubly sure he didn’t trip on a stray vine or branch. He would have turned on his comm if he had the strength to pull his guitar from his back and play a few chords, but it just wasn’t possible. Whatever this kidnapper was, it was fast, and Phobos didn’t consider himself the epitome of stamina. If he had to rank the four of them based on stamina, he'd put Havve first, Meouch second, Sung third, and himself in dead last. He wasn't being self-deprecating, just honest. Havve didn't have weak lungs or shaking legs to hold him back, Meouch worked out regularly and had exceptional balance, and Sung did enough leg kicks alone to put him ahead of Phobos.

After ten minutes of sprinting, Phobos was delighted to see his target finally slowing down ahead of him. He slowed his own pace to a light jog, maintaining a safe distance between them.

Phobos’ comm made a scratching noise of static and Sung’s voice met his ears. _“Havve's target is dead, it led him to some empty cave with no leads. I’m still pursuing. Over!”_

Phobos’ target slowed to a complete stop at a small clearing, it hunched over as if it was in pain suddenly. Phobos looked on curiously from his hiding spot behind some particularly huge plants. Was it finally tired of running? Or was it lost? The target stood up straight slowly, but it didn’t move. Phobos shifted slightly to get a better look, but his foot wrapped clumsily around a vine that sent his whole body tumbling down onto a big pile of branch that cracked loudly from under his weight.

 _You’re such a fuckin’ klutz,_ he could almost hear Meouch’s sarcastic remark already.

The kidnapper’s masked head whipped around to glare at Phobos on the ground, Phobos studied the creepy mask before grabbing his sai and scrambling to his feet. He got into a defensive stance just fast enough to block the huge weight of the kidnapper’s body as it sped right at him, frighteningly fast for something that was just sprinting for ten minutes straight.

 _“My target is super dead, easy peasy -”_ Phobos heard Meouch say over the comm before getting distracted by the kidnapper’s fist connecting with his helmet, its force was enough to knock him back a couple steps. He shook his head to clear it, then ducked at the next punch aimed at his head. He used the angle to plunge one of his sai right through the opening of the kidnapper’s armor right above its hip, then he roughly pulled the bloody blade out. His target screeched in pain as Phobos kicked it square in the abdomen, knocking it down on its back.

He stepped over the body of the kidnapper beneath him and buried his other sai in its chest right to the hilt. The kidnapper flailed in agony, it pushed at Phobos’ helmet until it dislodged just enough for Phobos to get a huge whiff of its disgusting body odor. It was a memorable mixture of decaying flesh and burning wood. Phobos recoiled in disgust as it writhed until eventually lying deathly still. He quickly adjusted his helmet to block out the terrible smell and stood up.

He swung his guitar around from his back and slapped the switch on his translator to power up, then he expertly plucked a few strings, and his translator droned on in its emotionless tone.

_“Target engaged and eliminated in self-defense, continuing to render-vous point. Over.”_

Meouch’s reply was almost instantaneous. _“Roger that Lord P. Over and out.”_

Phobos sighed at the nickname the Commander had bestowed him with. He thought he had told him he didn’t like that name.

He was just thinking of his furry companion when a large body crashed into his side. Phobos threw his guitar to the side in an attempt to save it from being stuck between his body and the large body that collided with his own, but he heard his guitar strap rip on his way to the ground. All the air left his lungs upon making impact with the ground. Breathless from the shock, he laid there underneath the huge body in pain. His chest felt crushed, but he held out his hand desperately for the sai sitting on the ground within reach.

His lungs were screaming as his fingers closed around the handle, and he thrust the blade into the body above him with all his remaining energy. There was a high-pitched screeching ringing in his ears until he felt the body go limp. He tried to push the monster off but once he finally got it off of him there was a terrible crunching sound. In panic, he rose to his hands and knees to get a look at what broke, praying it wasn’t what he thought it was, though some part in the back of his mind already knew.

Sure enough, it was his guitar. It lay there under the large body, crushed in pieces. The translator was in one piece, but it looked a little deformed on one end, and it sparked out licks of electricity. The longer he looked at his mangled instrument the more his eyes began to itch and sting under his helmet. He gingerly picked up a splintered piece of the neck and blinked away a tear.

 _At least you have your communication device,_ an optimistic voice that sounded like Sung said in his mind. _It’s still safely attached to the ear piece in your helmet._

But he still couldn’t communicate with the others. Without his guitar the only way he could talk was if he actually physically spoke, something he hadn’t done since that day all those years ago, the day he lost everything he had ever known. He wasn’t sure if he could do that anymore, his vocal chords hadn’t been used that way in ages. And even if he could, there was still that vow of silence...

 _“Suh dude, you on your way still?”_ Meouch said over the comm.

Phobos threw the piece of guitar in his palm to the ground angrily.

His guitar was his most prized possession in the world, and now it was broken. It would take ages to fix it, not to mention he'd have to show it to Sung first. He loathed the idea of anyone seeing it like this. It belonged in his capable hands, in one piece, not like this. Phobos took a deep breath with his hands on the ground, digging his gloved fingers into the Tecluan soil. He pretended to push all his frustration and anxiety deep into the ground, it helped calm him somewhat. He sat up on his knees and began gathering the pieces, carefully and slowly. He stored them in his mission bag and started his long, depressing walk of shame. He wasn't even sure he was walking the right way but he didn't care.

_“Umm, Lord P?”_

It had been five minutes of walking before Meouch started up again. Phobos felt his hands twitch instinctively for his guitar and that only made him more angry.

 _“Phobs come on, this isn’t funny.”_ Phobos shook his head in frustration. Of course this wasn’t funny, his precious guitar was in pieces in the bag on his back. Couldn’t his chatty teammate ask him questions when he had the ability to answer them?

 _“Phobos talk to me. I’m starting to get annoyed now. Just say hi, or what’s up or something please. Sung is already post-mission negotiating with the Tecluan Rep and Havve looks like someone stole his puppy.”_ Meouch’s voice didn’t sound annoyed to Phobos, it sounded tight, like someone was squeezing his neck. Phobos fiddled nervously with his sai, examining the dark green blood on the blade.

_“Phobos seriously, I’m gonna tell Sung, and you know how he gets when one of us goes MIA. Don’t do this to me man.”_

Phobos reached up to grip his comm and tore it away from his helmet, ripping the cords out from the ear piece. He tucked the device into a pouch and stomped further down the path that would take him back to the spaceship. He couldn’t stand listening to another word from his teammate, not when he couldn’t respond.

The walk was taking longer than he thought it should. He kept stopping to check his map of the land, he couldn’t deny that he was feeling a chill down his spine, the jungle was starting to have an eerie quality to it as the blue sun lowered in the sky. Once in awhile he would hear a squeak or the crunch of a branch cracking in two. The leaves were slowly falling all around him, something he would have found it beautiful on a regular day, but without his guitar everything was dull.

He somewhat regretted pulling out his comm, he couldn’t respond but at least he’d feel less alone.

 -

“What the hell Sung!” Meouch yelled as he threw his comm aggressively onto a table nearby. “He hasn’t responded at all and now I just get static when I try to navigate his channel! Something has to have happened.”

“Calm down Meouch, even if he’s been attacked it won’t help if we lose our heads.”

Meouch ruffled his fur. “But don’t you think we should at least be out there looking for him?”

“We set a rendez-vous point for a reason! We can’t just leave, what if he shows up and we’re not here?”

Meouch growled angrily, his hair standing on end. Havve, who had been completely silent in the background until this moment, flashed his eyes twice and sat glumly on the floor of their ship.

Sung gestured to the dejected looking robot. “Look, you made him upset.”

The doctor walked over to Havve and threw a comforting arm around the robot’s shoulders. Meouch watched his teammates, a mixture of guilt and confusion joining the boiling frustration in his veins.

“I know today wasn’t very successful, and the Tecluan Representative didn’t seem too pleased with our results, but we still got paid half we were promised and I managed to get the bait home safe.” Sung argued. “And Havve here got to try out his new updated infrared vision! How’d that go, by the way?”

Havve and Sung shared a look that told Meouch they were mentally communicating, he tried not to get jealous, but it was hard. He was always a fan of knowing what was going on in his friends heads, but only one out of three would talk to him. With Havve he understood, it was more of a functional thing. But with Phobos…

Sung frowned at Havve. “There must be something wrong with the converter, maybe it’s seeing double? But that doesn’t make sense, I checked the power distributor and there were no signs of instability with the thermal imaging-”

“Sung.” Meouch interrupted impatiently. “What’s going on?”

Sung looked up at Meouch, his lips pursed in thought. “Havve says the updated infrared was picking up two visible lifeforms in his target, but there was only one body. Wait-” Sung raised a hand, listening to Havve’s mental transmission. “Havve is saying the bio signatures looked slightly different. Then it can’t be doubling up! That means it must be malfunctioning in a different way, which means the problem is much more complex than I thought.”

Meouch opened his mouth to reply but his throat closed up and his ears twitched. Something was approaching the ship. Could it be him? He turned tail and pulled his katana out of its sheath as a precaution. He vaguely heard Sung yell “Meouch! Where are you going?” But he didn’t bother to stop and explain, he just jammed his paw against the green button and ran out the open door.

He ran and ran until he reached the edge of where the jungle began, where Phobos was. Meouch stopped in front of his teammate, giving him an assessing look to make sure he was seeing properly. Phobos’ helmet had some green guck splattered on it but he wasn’t deathly injured, he didn’t appear to be bleeding either.

“Dude! I’m so glad you made it!” Meouch exclaimed at his friend. “We were so worried you were…”

Phobos tilted his head when Meouch didn’t finish his sentence. Then he noticed where Meouch’s gaze was, and looked away awkwardly.

“Your guitar… It’s not there. What happened?” Meouch asked.

Phobos sighed deeply. This was not a question he could answer with a nod or a shake of the head, so if Meouch saw his guitar was missing then why did he ask that?

“Wait… Is that why you didn’t…?”

Phobos pulled his disconnected comm from his pouch, he held it out in his palm for his teammate to see.

At the recognition of the object in Phobos’ hand, Meouch’s face turned angry. “Are you telling me your comm was fine? Why did you pull it out of your helmet?” Meouch growled and snatched the device out of Phobos’ outstretched hand, waving it angrily in his face. “You could have said something to us that whole time? Are you kidding me right now Phobos?”

The silent guitarist took a step back, Phobos was no joke but Meouch was seriously scary when he was pissed off sometimes.

“Dude! All you had to do was say ‘I’m fine’ and turn the damn thing off! Do you have any idea what it was like when you didn’t-” Meouch stopped himself. He looked away and pinched between his eyebrows. “I can’t believe this.”

Phobos crossed his arms and stood stock still, refusing to speak or show any indication that he was anything less than fine at the moment.

“... Come on. The others are waiting.” Meouch gritted out before walking back the way he came, a silent and stompy Phobos trailing behind him from a respectable distance.

 -

Sung was sitting on the floor of their spaceship, a half solved rubik’s cube in his hands. His back was hunched and his eyes were glued to the toy, but his mind was somewhere else.

A flash of a question mark, a cube, and a rainbow danced in Sung’s mind. Sung looked up at Havve with a smile. “Always the curious one, aren’t you? Here, give it a shot.”

Sung placed the cube in the robot’s hands and watched fondly as he turned it over in his hands. Then Havve brought the object right in front of his face and his red eyes flashed as if to glare at it. Perhaps he was trying to intimidate it into solving itself. It was hard to tell sometimes if Havve was trying to be friendly or threatening.

The bay door to the ship hissed open and the ramp lowered, signalling the arrival of their friends. Sung scrambled to his feet and yelled “Phobos! You found him!”

But his happy energy quickly deflated at the dark look on Meouch’s face. And Phobos’ body language was closed, his arms crossed and his helmet permanently fixed to the ground. They both entered the ship in silence and as Meouch passed Sung to leave he shoved a device into his chest and grunted out “Here, it’s not like he needs it.”

Sung held the device where he could see it and recognized Phobos’ comm. It was undamaged, but the wires where it should have been connected to his helmet were sticking out.

“What happened to it?”

“I’d say ask him, but he wouldn’t respond anyway.” Meouch sneered with a pointed glance at the guitar player.

Phobos stomped to the corner of the room where he stashed his spare ukulele and slapped his translator - which looked a little worse for wear -  onto the bottom of it. He strummed the strings quickly and angrily.

The translator lit up and spouted “You are a chewy exaggeration!”

All four boys stood in silent confusion.

“What?”

Phobos jammed his thumb against the translator’s syncing buttons in frustration and tried again. This time, after strumming it said “My translator is dilemma.”

“It looks like someone crushed the translator a bit.” Sung supplied helpfully. “I’ll have to fix it up later, although I must say I’m enjoying these mistranslations.”

Phobos kept his gaze on Meouch and strummed again, a different set of chords this time.

“The cat has respect problem of me. He suggests break vow and yells at me. I am fragile.” Any fire that was meant behind the words was sadly lost in the robotic drone of the malfunctioning translator, but the message was still clear. Sung straightened up in shock, and Havve was standing now, watching his friends’ stand off in curiosity.

Meouch’s face reddened. “I don’t think it’s disrespectful to expect your friend to have the decency to tell us he’s all right! This was a high risk mission and communication was the most important thing, but not to you apparently!” Meouch walked closer to Phobos and held his head up high. “If you want my respect you’ll have to earn it.”

“Meouch!” Sung cried out. “That was rude! We’re all friends here!”

“Doc, I appreciate your attempts at democracy, but sometimes you gotta face the facts. He-” Meouch pointed a claw at Phobos, “- was fully capable of letting us know he was okay but he chose not to do that. He compromised the mission, and for what? A vow of silence that he won’t even explain to his teammates?”

“He has a right to take that vow, Meouch.” Sung replied, his voice hard. “We all have our different needs.”

“What does Meow know about duty or discipline when he is impulsive and anger?” Phobos’ translator jabbed.

“ALRIGHT THAT’S IT!” Meouch shouted before closing the distance between him and Phobos, he pounced on him and grabbed him by the front of his armor and gave him a good shove.

“Meouch!” Sung shouted.

But he was ignored by the both of them. Phobos quickly recovered from the initial shock of having his friend physically assault him, he returned the favor by shoving Meouch to the ground. Unfortunately for him, Meouch had grabbed a piece of Phobos’ armor on the way and dragged him down with him where they pushed and pulled at each other, the ukulele falling forgotten on the floor.

It wasn’t until Meouch clawed at Phobos’ helmet that Havve stepped in. The robot’s eyes flashed angrily, and he picked up Meouch by the back of his neck, rendering him completely immobile with his tail curled up.

“Havve no! Put down the Commander!” Sung pleaded.

But he did not put him down. He turned around and stomped away out of the room, the door hissing shut automatically behind them, leaving just Sung and a rumpled Phobos behind.

Sung sighed in exasperation. He looked over at his comrade and asked, “Need a hand up?”

Phobos just sat there, staring at the ground where he had been wrestling just seconds before. Then he looked up at Sung, and though he didn’t speak, Sung knew that he was not okay. Call it doctor’s intuition.

“We really need to talk to Havve about that. It’s no way to solve conflict.” Sung stated as he sat next to Phobos, his legs crossed. “At least the yelling stopped.”

Phobos kept his gaze locked on Sung’s, the rest of him seemed frozen in place. Sung felt his own hands fidget with nerves. “This is my fault… Isn’t it? Just like back on Earth.”

Phobos shook his head, but Sung wasn’t paying attention. “I told you guys to split up, I put us in a position where we had no idea if you were dead in a hole somewhere or…or... ”

Phobos reached out to comfort him, but Sung sat up straight with a wild look in his eye. “Wait.”

Sung snapped his fingers and smiled. “I have an idea! I’ll see you in the morning Phobos!”

Phobos watched baffled as Sung rushed out.

-

In another room on the other side of the spaceship, Havve tossed Meouch onto the floor.

“What the hell man? What’d you do that for?” Meouch yelled as he massaged the back of his neck. “You know I hate it when you do that, it makes my whole body seize up.”

Havve shook his head at Meouch with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Oh I see, you think I should apologize. Am I right?” When Havve nodded at Meouch’s words, Meouch crossed his arms. “Sorry bro, it’s not happening. He needs to understand that that stupid vow of silence has consequences that affect not only him, but all four of us.”

Havve didn’t move. Meouch sighed and hung his head in fatigue. “Look, I know I’m a little rough around the edges, but I can tell when something isn’t working. It was one thing for him to be silent during our tours on Earth, but now that we’re doing missions it’s just not safe.”

Havve waited a few moments before leaving Meouch alone in the room. He wondered if any of what he said got through to Havve, or if he agreed with him at all. Maybe he had upset him even more by bringing up Earth, Meouch hated that he had to tip toe that topic all the time.

Meouch wiped his face with his paw and looked around to realize Havve had taken him to the instruments room. Back when this was just his own spaceship, the only thing he kept in here was his bass sitting safely in a reinforced glass case attached to the wall, it had felt rather empty back then.

Now there were four extended closets for all of them to store their instruments. Sung had stuffed his full of various keyboards and cowbells, a cluttered mess. Havve’s had two sets of drums and seven pairs of drumsticks, the history behind which Meouch did not know, and was too afraid to ask. His own closet had a beaten up (but still functional) guitar covered in hand painted flowers that was gifted to him a long time ago. It meant more to him than he could explain, and yet he hasn’t taken it out of his closet since the day he put it there. Next to the guitar was his bass which he still played regularly, despite not being on tour for months. ‘I gotta make sure she knows I still love her’ he told Sung one day when the doctor questioned him pulling her out. ‘I’m sure she could never forget’ Sung had replied with a genuine smile.

Havve’s red eyes had shined just a little bit brighter that day, they always did whenever he pulled that bass out of his closet. Meouch suspected it reminded him of Earth. They were all coping with their temporary exile in different ways.

Meouch’s eyes lingered now on the red closet with the initials L.P. etched into it. Phobos never told him what he had in his closet, but to be fair Meouch never asked either. He pushed himself up off the floor and examined it up close. Without thinking too hard about it, Meouch pulled the doors open.

It was empty.

Meouch silently pressed his forehead on the closet door, a tired sigh escaping his lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> art piece was done by artist Liw, who is @ twrp on tumblr! thank you so much your art gives me life. I'm on tumblr too, @ novaspeaks, come chat with me I'm friendly ~


	2. Pity Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he tried to compose himself there was only one thought running through his mind:
> 
> What the hell was that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mild vomit is in this chapter! it's not too bad dw

The next morning found Phobos, Havve, Meouch, and Sung in the main piloting room looking tired and on edge; Sung had called them all for a mandatory team meeting for reasons unknown, he was the only one in the room who didn't look like they wanted to go back to bed immediately. Phobos’ helmet was now clean, Meouch noticed, but there was a bit of a limp to his walk. He made a mental note to ask him about it after this whole… _thing_ blew over. Havve seemed fine, but he stood a bit closer to Meouch than usual. Did he think he was gonna start up a fight? It was too early for that kind of effort.

Sung commanded Meouch's attention with the smack of his hand against a nearby chair, Phobos jumped at the sudden noise. “I know it’s early, and we all had a long and tense day yesterday, but I think I have just the thing to cheer you all up!” Sung was enthusiastic, but his energy was slightly manic.

“It’s not another slideshow is it? I don’t know if I can handle another hour of looking at baby ducks and penguins. They’re cute and all but an hour is a little much-”

“Oh hush Meouch you fool, it’s not another slideshow.”

Sung looked at Havve for a moment, then facepalmed. “No Havve, it’s not an ant farm either, please stop asking for an ant farm we simply don’t have the technology.”

Meouch watched with fading interest as Sung rifled through his desk, pulling out a small box. He gave them all a wide smile before opening it.

“Last night I got a fantastic idea, and while carrying out that idea I got ANOTHER fantastic idea!”

Meouch noticed the twitch in Sung’s hands and spoke up. “Sung, weren’t you scheduled to sleep tonight?”

“Irrelevant!”

“You’re not gonna pass out on us halfway through this meeting, are you?” Meouch asked with concern.

Sung dismissed his comment with the wave of his hand. “Of course not. Anyway, onto my ideas!”

He handed them each a small metallic disc the size of a pea. A blue one for Meouch, a red one for Phobos, a white one for Havve, and a yellow one that Sung took for himself. Meouch squinted at his, bringing it up to the light. “What are they?”

“They’re trackers!” Sung pointed to the display screen above the piloting board. “Connected to the ship’s mainframe.”

Meouch looked up at the screen that was displaying four colored dots pulsing in the same area, as Sung continued his explanation. “If the tracker is still in the same or neighbouring galactic quadrant as the ship, it will be able to detect its location through a private signal that is entirely unique to that tracker.”

“Wow.” Meouch exhaled. “I’m impressed. You made all four of these last night?”

“Yes! Well…” Sung suddenly looked sheepish. “I haven’t yet figured out a way to properly attach it to us yet, if I mess up it could fall right off your armor mid fight and then it’d be useless so you'll have to toss them in satchels or pockets for now. Buuut that brings me to my next idea!”

Sung took a deep breath and smiled.

“Boys… We’re taking a vacation!”

For a moment, the three boys stood in shocked silence. Meouch was sure that he had never heard that word come from the doctor’s mouth before. “I’m sorry?”

“Vacation! We're taking one! Weren’t you listening?” Sung lightly scolded Meouch, hands on his hips.

“No I heard correctly, I just can’t believe it.”

“Well, I was thinking a lot last night… And while I finalize the details on these trackers and figure out Phobos’ guitar situation, we really shouldn’t be taking missions. Since we can’t go back to Earth,” Havve looked firmly at the floor, “I phoned a friend about nice vacation planets in the general area.”

Sung pressed a button on the piloting board and a new message displayed itself on the main screen. The words ‘PLANET LULARA’ lit up behind him in sparkling letters.

“Lulara?”

Sung pointed gleefully at Meouch like a teacher does when their student gives the right answer in class. “Yes! Lulara!”

Phobos tilted his head, Havve crossed his arms, and Meouch waited in silence. None of them had heard of Lulara before, they had no idea what to expect. This was, after all, Sung’s idea, and his ideas were really a hit and miss type of situation.

“It’s not very well-known,” Sung explained, “But those who have been there swear it’s the best place they’ve ever been! They say the natives are kind and generous, the planet’s climate is ideal, and the atmosphere is very relaxing.”

“May I ask which friend you phoned last night?” Meouch asked.

“Danny and Ninja Brian!”

Meouch inhaled sharply. “Oh boy.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but consider this: Lulara is only half a day away from here and I already set the course for it so there’s no turning back now.”

Meouch would have shot back with a snarky remark about discussing with the team before making decisions, but he was distracted by Phobos’ fingers tapping and scratching his leg. He never noticed him do that before. Phobos noticed Meouch staring at his hand and froze. He crossed his arms and looked straight ahead, making it clear that Meouch was not his favorite person at the moment.

“I thought you guys would be a little more excited about this…" Sung pouted when he realized no one was really paying attention. Havve was still staring at the floor like it was his job. Sung clapped his hands together impatiently. "We’ve been going mission to mission for months now, this is the chance for us to unwind and have some fun!”

“Don’t get me wrong Doc, I'm downright ecstatic right now. I’m glad we aren’t doing missions for a while, but last time we took advice from Danny and Ninja B we ended up in some serious bullshit.”

Sung’s face went red. “Let’s not talk about that, this time it will be different. The Lularans are a peaceful race, and they reproduce asexually! Isn’t that fascinating?”

Meouch was shocked, an asexual race being recommended by Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian? That was practically unheard of, these Lularans must really be something special.

“Well!” Sung clapped his hands together. “You should all get back to your beds and get some more sleep. I’ll get to work on figuring a fail safe way of sticking those trackers to your suits and make sure we stay on course. Feel free to put the trackers in your pockets or something.”

Before they left, Havve stepped forward with flashing eyes, Sung seemed to shrink in on himself. He hesitated for only a moment, then slowly approached the robot, placing a comforting hand on Havve’s shoulder.

Meouch turned to leave, but before the door shut he heard Sung say quietly, “Don’t worry buddy, we won’t split up, I’ll be with you the whole time.”

 -

Meouch sat in his private quarters fiddling with Phobos’ translator (he had pickpocketed it from the oblivious bean pole during the meeting). He turned it over in his hands and examined the small opening on the bottom. The cracked gap was just big enough to fit one of his claws, the whole unit would have to be disassembled to reach the internal damage.

Normally this was something he’d leave to Sung, but the doctor seemed more than occupied at the moment with their trackers. There was another reason Meouch was fixing the translator, but that was a thought he was pushing from his mind right now. He needed to focus.

Meouch grabbed a special screwdriver from his toolbox and started turning the nails keeping the outer layer together. Just as he thought, when it opened there was some damage alright. He remembered seeing it when it was first built, Sung had proudly shown them all how it worked once he finally finished it. The two blue cords needed to be touching (they were not) and the internal light bulbs were meant to be flashing green (they were flashing red).

 _At least it's not shooting out sparks of electricity anymore,_ Meouch thought gratefully to himself. _It just needs some tweaking, and god knows I’ve fixed more complex devices than a translator._

Several hours later, Meouch had fixed the blue cords and was halfway through figuring out the lights. There was a knock on his door. Curious, he set the translator down on his desk and went to open the door.

Phobos stood on the other side.

“Oh, hey.” Meouch said, casually pulling the door closer to his body, blocking his desk from view.

Phobos curiously leaned to look over Meouch’s shoulder for a moment, then shrugged and made a ‘follow me’ motion.

“Why? Where are we going? I’m kinda busy…”

Phobos turned around and waved his noodle arms aggressively at Meouch, who immediately realized his mistake of asking questions that can't be answered with yes or no. “Right, sorry… Whatever. I’m coming.” He pulled his door shut and rushed up to walk beside Phobos.

It was mildly awkward, if Meouch was being honest. Usually they’d be joking around and trying to guess why Sung was calling another meeting, but now they just walked in silence. Not a comfortable silence either, the kind where your brain hurt from trying to think of something to say. Not to mention, Phobos' limp was still going strong and Meouch couldn't even ask him about it. He hated this. If Havve hadn't smashed his own talk box a long time ago, he'd have shoved it into Phobos' hands and said 'Here! Say something! Anything!' Preferably an apology, but Meouch wasn't so naive to think he'd get an apology from _Lord_ Phobos. He'd sooner get a hug from Havve, or witness Sung refusing to high kick.

“So I’m pretty sure Sung hasn’t slept in three weeks, got any powerful tranquilizers?” Meouch chuckled, attempting to break the ice.

Phobos glanced briefly at Meouch, but otherwise made no indication he heard.

"Stubborn." Meouch whispered under his breath. He was relieved when they finally reached the door to the piloting room, putting him out of his misery. Meouch held it open and offered Phobos a tight smile. “After you.”

Phobos stepped inside and Meouch followed behind him. The bassist curiously glanced around the room. “Alright Sung, what’s going on-”

“WE’RE GETTING A DISTRESS SIGNAL!” Sung exclaimed with waving arms. He pointed at the words on the screen near the front of the ship. Meouch made his way to the control panel and examined the communication screen, it said:

 

**Distress signal acquired, ship classified as a ELHK - 2078 has been heavily damaged. Two registered passengers on board requiring spacecraft mechanical assistance and possible replacement parts. Reply to request?**

 

“No no no.” Meouch protested, stepping back from the control panel. “I know what you’re gonna say Doc, but we are not stopping to help them.”

“But their ship is the same make as ours-”

“As MY ship, dude!" Meouch reminded him with an indignant voice. "It’s MY ship so I get to veto stupid decisions about it.”

“You’re really gonna ignore these people when you have the exact same kind of ship as them?" Sung said disbelievingly. "That’s not very rad of you.”

“We’re on vacation!” Meouch snapped. He swiped at Sung's cone, but the doctor was too fast for him and dodged it easily.

“NO TOUCHING THE PYLON, MEOUCH! And technically we haven’t arrived at Lulara so our vacation hasn't started yet.”

“I hate you.”

Havve gripped Meouch’s shoulder and he tried not to grunt in pain, it was just tight enough to hurt, but not enough to actually break anything.

“I mean…. I don’t not hate you?” Meouch amended.

The grip loosened. Meouch wondered if Havve was done with his shit or if Sung had really just forgotten to teach Havve double negatives.

“I’m glad you agree with me Havve!” Sung smiled at the robot, before rounding his glare at the lion. “We are checking out this ship and that’s final.”

Meouch tutted disapprovingly while Sung replied to the signal. As his ship approached the unknown spacecraft, Meouch felt a hand on his arm. “Hm?” He hummed, turning to face Phobos. “What?”

Phobos held his left arm out and made awkward strumming movements with his right hand, then he pointed at Meouch and made a thumbs up and thumbs down gesture.

Meouch blinked at him. “...Guitar?” He guessed.

Phobos gave him a thumbs up, then pointed at Meouch’s chest aggressively. Meouch hated charades.

“Are you asking to borrow my _bass_? Cause if so, hard pass bro! I’m surprised you’d even ask.”

Phobos shook his head frantically, his arms swinging in denial. He held up two fingers, then pointed at Meouch for a third time and pretended to strum a guitar again.

Meouch scratched at his head. “Are you asking if I have a spare guitar?”

Phobos clapped enthusiastically and nodded.

 _Yes._ “No.”

Phobos seemed to deflate. His arms fell to his sides and he looked away. Meouch felt guilt crawling up his neck, but he mentally swatted it away with the reminder of Phobos' half fixed translator in his room. Now just wasn't the time. He had to focus on his ship which was floating sluggishly - against his wishes - closer to the stranger ship. The closer they got the more unimpressed he felt about this whole situation.

-

S.S. Sexual Heeling's exit ramp connected with the damaged spacecraft's entrance, an enclosed, glowing pathway materialized between them allowing the boys safe passage without exposure to the harsh conditions of space.

Phobos had a bad feeling about this.

Was it because he still had no reliable way of communicating? Was it because his best friend was royally pissing him off? Was it because they were boarding a ship with complete strangers on it when they should be on the way to their vacation destination?

 _There's no reason it can't be all three,_ Phobos thought petulantly to himself.

"Let's go." Sung said. 

Phobos followed his team across the threshold of the ship, making sure he stayed one step behind them. He willed his right leg to cooperate - the damn thing wouldn't stop aching since yesterday's botched mission. After the meeting when Sung had announced their vacation, Phobos had spent hours massaging it and checking for bruises (when he wasn't looking for his stupid translator, the damn thing had vanished without him noticing). He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, but he wasn't about to tell Sung that fact. He'd probably force him into a bed, the hypocrite.

The guitarist came back to attention when they entered the piloting room of the unfamiliar spaceship. There were two armored beings, much taller than himself. Their faces were covered (suspicious) and there was something about the way they stood. They were almost too... still. They weren't moving an inch. They oddly said nothing as four, admittedly, strangely dressed aliens entered their piloting room.

"Hello!" Sung greeted in a friendly tone. "We got your distress signal and we thought that since we have the same kind of ship, maybe we could be of service to you?"

The two beings nodded, completely in sync. The one on the left said in a droning voice, "That is most fortunate. We require three mechanical fixes and one part replacement, it should be an inexpensive piece."

Sung cracked his knuckles in excitement. "Show me what you got!"

The one on the right grabbed a tablet and handed it over to Sung with stilted movements. "These are the ship's schematics, the highlighted areas are the parts in need of attention-"

Phobos was bored already. He never dabbled in mechanics or techno babble, that was more Sung and Meouch's forte. He was more interested in politics and matters of governance, what made an empire rise and a civilization fall. Although, he supposed Meouch knew a thing or two about that as well.

Phobos found he couldn't stay in that room another minute. He backed away slowly and slipped into a nearby corridor unnoticed by the others.

It was strange for Phobos to see the inside of a ship so alike and yet so different from theirs. It was much smaller, there were similarities in the structure of the craft like the pattern in the walls and the feel of the lightweight materials beneath his feet. But it lacked warmth, the kind of comforting feeling one gets when they return to a ship they share with others, when they come home. The coldness of this ship only added to the unpleasant feeling in Phobos' stomach.

Phobos jolted in shock when he heard a sound from behind the wall on his right. It sounded like... moaning? Or was it crying? Whatever it was, it was very faint, he could just barely catch it with his enhanced hearing. He glanced back anxiously in the direction of the piloting room, then made his decision to follow the sound further down the corridor. If he ran into trouble, at least he had his brand new tracker in his travel pouch this time.

At the end of the hallway there was a door. An unpleasant smell hit Phobos like a wave as he approached it. The scent felt so familiar, like... sandalwood? Or rotting fruit? Maybe a campfire.

Phobos pushed the button to open the door and physically recoiled from the smell, but despite all the signs that he should turn around and high tail it out of there, he stepped forward and took a look inside the room.

Inside was a sight that would make anyone with a weak stomach instantly double over and spill the contents of their stomach. Phobos had a bit more self-control than that, but he still felt the telltale sting of bile rising unwanted up his throat. He gagged and grabbed at the wall for support. 

Through the general haze of the fog that surrounded the entire room, in the very back corner sitting there limp and motionless, was a _corpse_. It was dressed in the same armor as the two beings that greeted them when they boarded the ship, but it looked a tad different due to the very obvious fact that it was dead as a door nail. The mask that once covered its face was hanging by a thread at its neck, revealing an alien Phobos was not familiar with. Its vacant white eyes were rolled back, the skin a pale green and still fresh looking, its mouth a gaping O shape as if it had been created that way.

And since this wasn't horrific enough, the body twitched violently. Phobos let out an involuntary yell (ouch, his throat did not like that) in his panic and stumbled back onto his ass, shuffling his feet to push himself backwards out of the room. Once he had made it far enough in the hallway the door slid back shut automatically, masking the smell surprisingly well.

Phobos sat with his back against the wall and just breathed for a moment. He held a sweaty hand to his chest where his heart was beating frantically, waiting for his lungs to adjust to the cleaner air. As he tried to compose himself there was only one thought running through his mind:

_What the hell was that?_

-

Something didn't make much sense to Meouch. He easily fixed two of the three mechanical failures without even having to leave the piloting room. Sung had fixed the third relatively fast, he was good at fixing power related issues, and these two idiots had somehow managed to overwork almost everything this poor ship had to offer.

Which brought Meouch back to the real mystery. It wasn't how to fix the ship, but how it got like this in the first place. The ship looked almost brand new, Meouch could tell it was fully functional apart from the few damages which, while Meouch was questioning things, looked all very basic and surface-level damaged to him. He recalled their distress signal stating that the damages were heavy, who let these buffoons pilot a ship as nice as this?

"If you don't mind my asking-" Sung began as he scrutinized the tablet in his hands, "How did you get these damages, exactly?"

The two aliens looked at each other and back at Sung in unison (that was creepy). "We passed through a meteor field not long ago, it caught us off guard. The damages worsened as we did not know how to treat them."

Meouch scoffed quietly from where he was working under the main control panel. Those aliens were lying through their teeth. These damages were clearly from a battle ship's guns. Meouch jumped when he felt Havve's hand grab his arm and pull him away from the wires and cables. "What the hell, buddy?" He protested at the impatient robot. 

Havve pointed at the corner where he swore Phobos was standing, but apparently not because it was currently empty of any noodle guitar players. Meouch mentally cursed. "Did you see where he went, big guy?"

Havve pointed again, this time at the corridor which led to the west side of the ship. Then he pointed at Meouch and flashed his eyes at him. Meouch wasn't sure what it meant, but he guessed it was some variety of 'you go find him.' Did Havve really think he was going to tell Sung that Phobos disappeared? No, he wasn't stupid. He knew if Sung found out, he'd do something really dramatic and make things worse.

"Don't worry, I'll find him." Meouch clapped Havve's shoulder in reassurance and stood up from his spot on the floor.

He was beginning to tire of this game. Why couldn't Phobos just stay with the group? Was this going to be a recurring theme with them? Phobos running off and Meouch going out to find him? 

Meouch entered deeper into the corridor, and when he found Phobos he was sitting on the floor with his head hanging between his knees. Meouch couldn't see any injuries on him, but he didn't look fine. He crouched beside his friend, getting on his level. This might require some level of tact, depending on what happened.

"Having a nap, are we?" Meouch chided him, placing a paw on Phobos' shoulder.

Phobos looked up from the floor, when he saw Meouch he grabbed his arm with a shaking hand and shook his head. "Woah, hey." Meouch fretted. He struggled momentarily with finding a question the silent Lord could answer. "Are you alright?"

It took a while, but eventually Phobos nodded. Meouch let out a doubtful laugh. "Yeah, I don't believe you. Up ya get, come on."

He hauled Phobos to his feet and supported a bit of his weight, the man was skinny so it wasn't much. "I'd ask you what happened but I know you can't answer, so you can tell me later."

Phobos stared. Then he lifted a finger and started tracing letters on Meouch's chest, surprising the man. It felt like an M, an A, a D, and a question mark. 'Mad?' 

Meouch let the air out of his lungs. He started walking them down the hallway the way they came, supporting Phobos who still couldn't seem to get his legs to work properly. Something weird must have happened for Phobos to ask something so direct. He found himself compelled to answer truthfully. "Am I mad? A little." Meouch admitted. "But you're still my friend, and I'm not a monster."

Phobos patted Meouch's head gratefully, he offered Phobos a small smile in return. They weren't back to normal per se, but the unpleasant knot that seemed to wrap tightly around his chest since yesterday loosened a bit, and he felt like he could breathe once again.

"Now let's get the fuck outta here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you spot the reference to Swift Like Mercury by meguki?


	3. Most (Un)fortunate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Havve calm down, it's just a bit of diamond rain!" Sung shouted in glee as Havve covered his head with his arms, the diamonds making a clunk clunk sound against his armor. Sung looked like he was pissing his pants in excitement, and even Phobos was swatting playfully at the glittering gems surrounding them. Meouch just felt homesick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should've posted this yesterday, sorry!

Entering Lulara's atmosphere was difficult. They had to preemptively call the Lularan Communications Team to announce their arrival so they could adjust the climate for them. The planet was surrounded by a barrier that resisted anything that tried to enter, S.S. Sexual Heeling almost grinded to a complete stop trying to pierce it. 

Sung was busy piloting the ship through the thick turbulence, and yet... his eyes kept darting over to Phobos. It was obvious that he saw something on that ship. He was sitting in a nearby chair with a seat belt on, his hands gripping the armrests tightly. Sung wondered if he removed the helmet, what would he see?

This was something he didn't ponder very often, he knew as well as anyone the desire to keep your face hidden. When you knew for a fact that there was no one else in the world like you it made it easier to hide behind a mask. Sung couldn't remember the last time he had laid eyes on his own face, and not once had any of the boys asked him what he was hiding. For this he was eternally grateful, but it did make him wonder if they ever wanted to ask, but held their tongue for the sake of his feelings. Or were they really that disinterested in his physical appearance? Sung wasn't even sure what he would say if they asked to see his face. 

Meouch was on Sung's other side, he was also stealing glances at their guitarist when he thought no one was looking. Sung rolled his eyes.

The doctor wondered just when his team leadership skills got so bad. He nearly had a heart attack back on the damaged ship when Meouch had showed up with a disgruntled Phobos leaning on him for support. He hadn't even noticed they were gone! What kind of leader does that? 

_"Oh my god, Phobos, are you okay?" Sung said in a panicked voice as he rushed over to the two. "What happened?"_

_"It's fine Sung, he just tripped. You know how clumsy he gets." Meouch crowed, pulling him along to the exit. "We should go now."_

_"But there's still a missing part-"_

_"Sung." Meouch's voice and expression left no room for argument. "We're leaving. Now."_

He hadn't even had the chance to talk to the man, Meouch had sat him down on the nearest couch and forced him to lay down. Phobos didn't put up a fight, he was probably grateful for some rest. What really surprised Sung was Meouch grabbing his own blanket from his room and draping it over the guitarist. He could pretend to be tough n' rough all he wanted, but Sung knew his real heart. Meouch was soft. He sat down on the floor next to the already sleeping Phobos and stayed there the whole time he was asleep.

Sung had watched them, biting down his nails till there was hardly anything left. Something happened on that ship, and the moment they got settled on Lulara Sung would find out exactly what it was. 

"Atmosphere has been breached. Landing on PLANET LULARA momentarily." The ship intercom announced. 

-

If there was one thing that Meouch missed the most about Earth, it was the rain. Other planets had rain of course, but they weren't the same. Flostea's rain was made of acid, something totally harmless to the Flosteans but incredibly painful for Meouch. Pruzanus had all their rain come down at once, and it smelled weird. It was like one really fast smelly shower, which just did not make sense when Meouch thought about it. And he didn't even want to think about Zeyatar, that place honest to god rained rocks. The first time he got caught in a downpour on that planet he barely escaped with bruises everywhere.

Earth rain was different. It was cool to the touch, and even the strongest downpour didn't hurt Meouch's skin in the slightest. The raindrops tickled, refreshing him from the warm humid air and wetting his fur. It always felt so much _softer_ when it dried from Earth rain.

He recalled the time he and Havve went to Niagara Falls, it was one of the few times they got to hang out one on one. It was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen, there was _so much water_. The sound of it crashing down and continuing its path downstream into Lake Ontario was music to Meouch's ears. The mist rose from the depths below and pervaded the air where people stood against the railings, Havve couldn't verbally express his joy but when he beeped and flashed his red eyes Meouch could feel it. At night time there were colorful lights on the water, and the night they visited the spectacular falls Meouch had fallen in love with all of it. The Horshoe Falls, the American Falls, even the smaller Bridal Veil Falls that was separated by Luna Island. He also happened to visit when it rained, which quickly became Meouch's happy place during times of hardship.

Lulara wasn't Earth, but it wasn't Zeyatar either. It wasn't better or worse, just different.

The first thing Meouch noticed when they debarked his ship was the pastel color scheme of the landscape. The ground was a soft pink and littered with yellow and blue flowers, the sky a washed out teal with no clouds. They had landed the ship near an elegant castle of blue and gold, but in the distance there were mountains and forests of tall trees teeming with wildlife Meouch had never seen before. The trees grew an interesting fruit, it almost looked like an apple from Earth, except it was dark blue with white spots and covered in fuzz. Everything around him looked so...

"Soft." Meouch uttered out loud.

"What?" Sung asked Meouch, his eyes still trained on his fancy watch. It could tell the wearer what time it was on Earth, and also the status of whatever climate he exposed it to. Lately Sung had been wearing it every day, most likely counting the days they spent in exile.

"Nothing." Meouch dismissed, hiking his vacation bag higher on his shoulder.

Sung shrugged. "Well I guess we should head inside the castle and announce ourselves." He placed his hands on his hips and took a look around, a frown forming. "Not a lot of people around, is there?"

Meouch shook his head. He had expected some form of greeting committee, or at least a tour guide. He was just about to tell Sung this when the sound of someone screaming approached from the left. All four of the boys watched curiously at the Lularan that ran full tilt towards the castle, still screaming. It wore loose fitting robes covering long, light purple legs, a flat chest, and lanky arms. Enclosed in its fists were three fingers, and hidden behind white curls were two stubby horns atop its head. It had eyes as black as outer space, they glittered with minuscule stars rather than pupils. 

It didn't even stop to say hello, it just ran screaming at the top of its lungs, bypassing them entirely. 

"Well, that seems like a good omen." Meouch deadpanned.

Havve beeped and pointed to the sky which had changed. The washed out teal was becoming a deep blue and began to sparkle. Meouch couldn't look away, and before he knew it there were small round pieces of diamonds falling in slow motion from the sky. Meouch held out his paw and examined the bit of diamond that landed gently there, it was a perfect sphere and glittered at all angles. There weren't any clouds in the sky so Meouch assumed these were pieces of meteor that the barrier surrounding Lulara had changed into diamonds somehow. The gem glittered in his palm, he tilted his hand so it slid off and bounced onto the soft ground. 

"Havve calm down, it's just a bit of diamond rain!" Sung shouted in glee as Havve covered his head with his arms, the diamonds making a _clunk clunk_ sound against his armor. Sung looked like he was pissing his pants in excitement, and even Phobos was swatting playfully at the glittering gems surrounding them. Meouch just felt homesick.

_Diamond rain, huh? Not that special._

-

When they entered the vast castle, it became clear that something was wrong. There were Lularans running about everywhere, yelling and panicking. They were an odd looking race, their skin varying from pastel purples, to blues, greens, and pinks. Some had faint white freckles and longer hair, others had pointier horns than the ones they saw upon their arrival. They were all tall for the most part, Meouch imagined that Sung would look even shorter standing next to them. They wore interesting sandals encrusted with jewels and ornate necklaces, clearly they enjoyed gemstones. Meouch found them overall aesthetically pleasing, even if their constellation eyes threw him off a bit.

Honestly, the strangest thing about them wasn't their skin or their lanky limbs, but the fact that they were all touching each other.

Everywhere you looked there were hands on waists, on shoulders, on faces even. The only Lularan who wasn't touching someone else was the only one with dark skin, it was the tallest one of all and it sat on a throne of what looked like black stone. Its head was adorned with a crown of exotic looking flowers, and it had skin the colour of dark chocolate. It seemed distressed, looking around helplessly at the others who were discussing something in a language Meouch couldn't understand.

"Hold on guys, let me initiate the translator so we understand each other." Sung said, pushing a series of buttons on his watch.

"Ahnoio issktgrael inkshu - they took her?" "I have no idea!" "Why would anyone do such a thing, to Lulara of all places?" _"I can't feel my legs!"_

They all ignored the four travelers until Havve knocked over an expensive looking vase. It came crashing down on the polished floor and every set of eyes in the room fixed themselves onto the robot. Havve quickly ran behind Sung, who shook his head in disapproval but still stood protectively in front of him. The dark skinned Lularan clutched at its chest, taking in the sight of the four intruders. It sat up straight and cleared its throat, then spoke in a strong but gentle voice. "Who are you?"

"Us? Oh, uh, we're a b-" Sung caught his mistake, "I mean, mercenaries I guess? Oh but that sounds so aggressive, we're honestly harmless. You know what, that's a really tough question. What do you guys think?"

"Personally I'd go with morally decent, guitar shredding, drum slaying, and vocal rocking pirates. But I guess mercenaries works." Meouch replied.

Sung waved awkwardly at the king. "Hi yes, we're mercenaries. Temporarily."

"Yeah, but we're on vacation dude." Meouch crowed, giving a peace sign and sticking his tongue out.

"I see. Well, I the King of Lulara, welcome you all." He said with a flourish of his hand. Then his eyes turned sad. "But I'm afraid you come at a most unfortunate time."

 _Here we go,_ Meouch thought to himself with some level of excitement, _here comes the problem!_

"Our beloved princess, my daughter, has just been kidnapped you see. The entire planet is in chaos."

"Kidnapped?" Sung squeaked. "By who?"

The King shot Sung a look. He was likely thrown off by how direct he was, most people were. Meouch wondered how different this conversation would have been if Phobos could speak. "We are uncertain, but there was a witness who swears that it was two tall, armored aliens that took her. They had a spaceship not unlike yours, our few weapons did land a hit or two, but clearly it was not enough."

Meouch would never say 'I told you so' but, he really, really,  _really,_ wanted to. Instead he let loose the hysterical giggles that had been threatening to escape him since this conversation began.

"Oh dear." Sung's voice cracked near the end, as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fit together.

There was chatter amongst the Lularans, their King hushed them with a look and addressed Sung again. "Is something the matter, orange one?"

"Your Majesty I... We came across a ship like ours on our way here. It was being piloted by two aliens covered from top to bottom in armor." Sung explained, wringing his hands together anxiously.

"Then there can be no doubt! It was the kidnappers who stole my daughter. What happened? Did they kidnap your daughter as well?"

"My wha-" Sung squeaked as Meouch choked on his laughter. "N-no! I don't, um, I don't have children."

The King frowned. "I don't understand. Did you engage in battle with the ship?"

Meouch put Sung out of his misery by stepping forward and commanding the attention of all the Lularans. "We helped them fix their ship!"

Sung punched Meouch in the upper arm. "Meouch!"

"What?" He retorted. "I'm not lying!"

The King stood from his throne to reach his full height. He was taller than all four of them, and beyond that he exuded an air of otherworldly grace and power. He directed his cold gaze at Meouch, his eyes narrowing. "Do you find the kidnapping of my daughter amusing, feline?"

Meouch was undeterred. There were scarier beings in his dreams than a Lularan. "Not at all, Your Majesty, I just knew this vacation would turn to shit, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." 

"Forgive my impulsive friend." Sung amended. "He speaks his mind. It's both a blessing and a curse, really."

Phobos, who until this moment had remained silently removed from the conversation, tapped Sung's shoulder. "Yes?" Sung said. Phobos pointed at Sung's tracker where it sat on his hip, he pointed at himself, and smacked Sung impatiently.

"What are you on about Phobs?" Meouch questioned.

"I think he's saying his tracker is missing." Sung realized with shock. 

Meouch's mouth fell open. He felt that familiar bubbling frustration crawling back up his chest, begging to be set free. Phobos had once again proven that he is the clumsiest alien in the multiverse. If he were being honest, Meouch was disappointed, but not entirely surprised.

Sung pulled out a small box from his satchel. When he pressed the button on the side, it unfolded and expanded into a tablet with a holographic map. Sung studied the colored dots and sure enough, all but one were pulsing in a cluster. All but the red one.

"Wait." Sung frowned at the map, he swiped at it to zoom out a bit. "Your tracker is moving, and fast."

Phobos nodded, he pointed insistently at their spaceship.

"No way..." Meouch whispered. "You just happened to drop your tracker on that ship? On the same goddamn day we got them?"

Phobos flipped the bird at Meouch. 

"Travelers, please." The King implored. "Explain what is happening, do you know where my daughter is?"

Sung powered down the hologram and faced the Lularans. "Your Majesty, it seems that we have inadvertently placed a tracking device on the ship that may very well be holding your princess hostage."

"So, yes. We do know where your daughter is." Meouch concluded, a sly grin on his face. He knew where this was going.

The Lularans cheered and applauded. The King looked like someone drowning who had just been thrown a life jacket, there were even some Lularans crying already. Meouch was way more entertained by Sung, who seemed to grow more on edge by the second.

"Perhaps it is fate that brings you here, mercenaries." The King descended from his throne and approached them, his regal robes dragging on the immaculate floor behind him. He removed his crown and placed it on his heart. "If I may, could I task you four with rescuing my daughter?"

_Three, two, one..._

"Of course." Sung's voice faltered. 

"Excellent! We will provide you with supplies of course. We would not wish to burden you more than we already have." The King turned his gaze to Phobos, who stiffened under the sudden attention. The Lularan glided across the floor to stand across from him. "And you, it appears I owe you thanks for dropping that tracking device."

Phobos shifted uncomfortably, then raised his right arm to his chest and bowed deeply in the formal way that Meouch recognized. It was his race's formal greeting of other royalty. The Lularan King bowed back. "You have the air of a royal, and yet you do not speak. I know not why, but at this moment I must admit that I am too grateful to care. May I take your hand for a moment?"

Meouch blinked in confusion. What was it with these Lularans and touching people?

Phobos glanced at his own gloved hand for a moment, then held it out palm facing upward. The Lularan King rolled up Phobos' sleeve ever so slightly, when its fingers made contact with his skin, its face took on a pained look. The King turned to his subjects, "Grab a ploxia fruit now, his leg is injured."

 _How the hell did he know that?_ Meouch thought furiously.

A Lularan stepped forward, carrying one of those dark blue fruits they saw in the trees outside. It handed the fruit over to Phobos, who examined it closely before deeming it edible. He awkwardly displaced his helmet enough to shove his hand into it and took a bite. Meouch wondered what it tasted like. He also wondered why Phobos just took a fruit from a complete stranger with unknown properties and just straight up ate it, but really, he shouldn't be surprised at this point.

Everyone watched Phobos curiously to see what would happen.

"Your Majesty?" Sung prodded politely. "What is a ploxia fruit exactly?"

A nearby Lularan with blue robes and pink skin stepped forward to answer Sung's question. "Ploxia is our most common native fruit, entirely unique to our planet's agriculture. It has many different healing properties, some of which are still undiscovered." Then it held out one for Sung to try, an eager smile on its face. "Would you like to test it?"

"Oooooh." Sung scratched the back of his neck, something Meouch noticed a long time ago as his 'I'm lying but I don't wanna hurt your feelings' tell. "I just ate so... I'm okay for now, thank you."

Meanwhile, Phobos was looking down at his right leg. He lifted it off the ground and shook it about, leaning his weight on it experimentally. Phobos held two thumbs up and the King smiled, Meouch smiled in disbelief. That might have been the fastest working remedy he'd ever seen, and it was all thanks to a fruit.

"Now that you are healed, please make haste!" The King implored. "I hate to think of my daughter being scared and alone. Even as we speak we waste precious time."

-

The four bandmates were ushered out the front door where it was still raining diamonds from a deep blue sky. The sky was changing back to its original teal color, the diamonds shimmered and dissipated as the downpour slowly ended. It was beautiful, but Sung didn't really appreciate it at the moment. He was trying to process everything that just happened in the last five minutes, he was pretty sure he just accepted another mission. Why did he do that? He had their entire vacation planned, they were gonna relax, go for a swim in Lulara's pink oceans, explore the beautiful caverns Danny had told him about... But now it was all ruined. All because he doesn't know how to say no and some princess had to get herself captured. Sung felt his optimism seeping out of his body with every step he took.

"Wait!" The sound of a yell amongst the crowd of Lularans made the boys pause in their trek back to their ship. Someone was pushing their way to them, a Lularan with pure white skin and long blonde hair that bounced with each movement. It panted as it rushed over, the others around it quickly making room. "Travelers," It spoke in a voice like honey, "I implore you, allow me to come with you."

Sung and Meouch exchanged a look. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Sung asked, hoping he didn't sound rude.

The Lularan seemed to remember itself, brushing its hair back out of its face and straightening up. "I am Zeph, the princess and I are close, I may be of use to you."

"Can you fight?" Meouch piped up.

Zeph shot Meouch a look. "Yes, if I have to."

Sung's first instinct was to decline, the last time they accepted help from others on a mission it didn't end well, and Sung wasn't eager to be responsible for another's safety. He scratched at his chin, contemplating his options. Then it occurred to him that he should ask his friends first. He looked at Meouch first - it was his ship after all, no matter how much Sung insisted that it was the team's ship now - who gave him a curt nod. Phobos shrugged in his indifference. 

Havve sent him images of a green light shining from a lighthouse covered in carnations. He also gave Sung a thumbs up, in case the images weren't clear enough.

Sung sighed. "Come on board." He said, heading for the ship without looking back.

All five of them rushed into the spacecraft and Sung closed the entrance ramp behind him. They hadn't even made it to the piloting room before Meouch started his inevitable gloating.

"I have to say Sung, that was the best vacation ever. We lasted a whole ten minutes!" 

Patience. Something Sung really wished he had right now, but unfortunately for him the well of patience had run dry. "Save it, Meouch." He bit out.

Zeph looked around the interior of their ship in curiosity, its fingers touching whatever they could reach. Once it reached the couch it pushed at the cushions, with an appreciative noise it sat down and squealed as it sank into it. A sparkling green heart danced behind Sung's eyelids, he glanced at Havve in surprise. It wasn't often that Havve took a liking to strangers this fast. It had taken him weeks to get the robot to be cooperative with him, and he was the one who brought him back to life.

"Look," Sung addressed the boys, he didn't waste any time. "I'm really sorry guys, I promised you a vacation and all we got was another mission. It's all my fault-"

"No it isn't." Meouch interrupted. He looked Sung in the eye with an abrupt intensity, neither angry nor happy just intense. He jabbed a finger into Sung's chest. "This isn't any more your fault than Phobos' guitar getting smashed, or what happened on Earth." Meouch tossed his vacation bag on the floor with more force than necessary. "Just face it, Sung, we're cursed."

The doctor hadn't been expecting that, the idea that they were cursed didn't seem like a logical explanation for why all of this was happening. He wasn't sure how his failures could be the result of some magical curse, or bad luck; both concepts Sung didn't put much stock in. Nevertheless, it felt somewhat satisfying to consider as a theory. Of course the thought that maybe these events were because of some outside source rather than himself was a comforting one, but was that just wishful thinking? Probably. "We aren't cursed... But maybe I am." Sung conceded quietly.

There was nothing but silence in the room. Sung couldn't stand it. He suppressed a yawn and left the room, trusting that one of them could set the course for the red tracker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell I like Niagara Falls? I love going there so much. reminder that I'm @ novaspeaks on tumblr, and I'm friendly! if you enjoyed this chapter leave a comment or a kudos


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